Some Kinda Love (Jap. title: Romansu)
I went to an artsy-fartsy film today at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. I mean, I can't refuse an opportunity to go to a cultural activity that involves me sitting comfortably on my butt for one and a half hour while it's cold outside and I am one of the few people who have some time to spare on Thursday afternoon. Especially when I can claim it's for educational purposes because I study Japanese and I am going to see a Japanese cultural product. The film I went to see was Some Kinda Love (Japanese title: ロマンス)
Some kinda love is about two men who know each other from college, Shibata and Anzai. Shibata is a married real estate broker who is waiting for a good project to be built on one of his properties; as Anzai is an (awkwardly single) city planner nowadays, he starts fraternizing with him again.
One night, after Anzai turns down a prostitute Shibata hired to win his favour, the two men end up in the hotel bar when a beautiful woman, Kiriko Murasaki, walks in. She orders a drink and asks it to be put on a tab because she's a regular. When the two friends learn she is not waiting for anyone, they ask her to join them. She does, and later that night she takes them to a rooftop where she says they can spot UFOs.
So starts a sort of menage a trois with in the background the story of palm-greasing Shibata trying to catch a big fish by treating Anzai's superior to hostess bar outings and having a private eye look for blackmail material about an old farmer whose land Shibata wants.
But not only does Shibata's wife start to suspect something (Kiriko phoned her the night she met Shibata to tell her he was with her and Anzai), Kiriko turns out to be a married woman, the wife of a dentist, and it all slowly falls apart. Even Shibata's real estate plan falls through, with dire consequences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was very funny in some instances, and an intriguing story. It was a lot less elusive than I had thought it would be. I especially enjoyed the performance of Ishii LaSalle who plays a vulnerable, likeable Anzai.
I want to be more serious about writing, write more, write different things. I am planning for at least one screenplay, probably in Dutch. Although that story may be a bit mediocre, it's first of all practice and if something good comes from it, all the better. For the other idea, which is somewhat autobiographical, I haven't determined the form yet. The way it looks now it will be a longish story of around 10.000/10,000* words, a true 50.000/50,000* word novel, maybe to be finished during Julnawrimo, or another screenplay. I haven't decided on the language yet.
I need to get working on editing my NaNo-story, write a synopsis, get it out there. I can't sit around and wait for it to be discovered. It needs work, definitely, but I think that I stand a chance. Perhaps. If not, then maybe the next one. *grin* I want to be a real writer. I am just a bit insecure about my skills. People who like me telling me I do well, that's not the kind of encouragement I need. I need people who can be critical about my work, telling me what to do better, telling me something's good or bad for certain reasons. I need someone to like my stuff without knowing who wrote it; it's the only way I can seriously make something out of writing.
But first, let me just have fun writing. Otherwise it's no use anyway.
Some kinda love is about two men who know each other from college, Shibata and Anzai. Shibata is a married real estate broker who is waiting for a good project to be built on one of his properties; as Anzai is an (awkwardly single) city planner nowadays, he starts fraternizing with him again.
One night, after Anzai turns down a prostitute Shibata hired to win his favour, the two men end up in the hotel bar when a beautiful woman, Kiriko Murasaki, walks in. She orders a drink and asks it to be put on a tab because she's a regular. When the two friends learn she is not waiting for anyone, they ask her to join them. She does, and later that night she takes them to a rooftop where she says they can spot UFOs.
So starts a sort of menage a trois with in the background the story of palm-greasing Shibata trying to catch a big fish by treating Anzai's superior to hostess bar outings and having a private eye look for blackmail material about an old farmer whose land Shibata wants.
But not only does Shibata's wife start to suspect something (Kiriko phoned her the night she met Shibata to tell her he was with her and Anzai), Kiriko turns out to be a married woman, the wife of a dentist, and it all slowly falls apart. Even Shibata's real estate plan falls through, with dire consequences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was very funny in some instances, and an intriguing story. It was a lot less elusive than I had thought it would be. I especially enjoyed the performance of Ishii LaSalle who plays a vulnerable, likeable Anzai.
I want to be more serious about writing, write more, write different things. I am planning for at least one screenplay, probably in Dutch. Although that story may be a bit mediocre, it's first of all practice and if something good comes from it, all the better. For the other idea, which is somewhat autobiographical, I haven't determined the form yet. The way it looks now it will be a longish story of around 10.000/10,000* words, a true 50.000/50,000* word novel, maybe to be finished during Julnawrimo, or another screenplay. I haven't decided on the language yet.
I need to get working on editing my NaNo-story, write a synopsis, get it out there. I can't sit around and wait for it to be discovered. It needs work, definitely, but I think that I stand a chance. Perhaps. If not, then maybe the next one. *grin* I want to be a real writer. I am just a bit insecure about my skills. People who like me telling me I do well, that's not the kind of encouragement I need. I need people who can be critical about my work, telling me what to do better, telling me something's good or bad for certain reasons. I need someone to like my stuff without knowing who wrote it; it's the only way I can seriously make something out of writing.
But first, let me just have fun writing. Otherwise it's no use anyway.